Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2026 i Wildfowl

IT IS EASY TO FORGET IN THESE STRANGE TIMES, when everyone is staring at their phone. But we have to take a moment here and there to realize just how lucky we are to have this crazy passion that can lead us all over the planet as waterfowl hunters. Unlike big game fanatics, which many of us are as well, there is just about no corner of the planet that doesn’t hold ducks, from South America to New Zealand and the Arctic. The passion drives the thing. I watched a Spur-winged goose come out of a waterhole in Tanzania on an expensive safari where violent hippos were doing their thing, and found myself wishing I was waterfowling instead of dangerous game hunting despite seeing so many crocodiles that my guide…

VERY FEW STATES ALLOW THE hunting of tundra swans; but in the ones that do, it becomes an obsession among the water-fowling populous. Folks spend day after day sitting in the marsh hoping for those big white birds to soar into the decoys. You can hear the “WOOOOS” of desperate hunters trying to mouth call the swans into shooting range. Hunters take to social media begging for a good Samaritan to take them out for a crack at killing North America’s largest waterfowl species. Filling a swan tag becomes more pressing than punching a long-coveted elk tag. I would know, I live in Utah, one of the swan hunting epicenters of the nation, and it just happens to be the state where this issue’s Band Tales story takes place. On…

TURTLEBOX AUDIO GEN3 SPEAKER A lot can be said about gunning the Spring Conservation Order; however, what will never be said is how nice and gentle and easy spring snow goose hunting is on gear and equipment. In a word, it’s not. That’s why the folks at Turtlebox Audio have put their Original GEN3 speaker on the shelves. To use their words, the GEN3 is engineered for the outdoors, and offers the Two Ps - Premium Power - that’s unmatched and, like Dracula, simply refuses to die. With an IP-67 rating meaning it’s tougher than Jack Reacher with anger issues, the GEN3 is waterproof, drop-, crush-, and dust-proof, and even floats. Twenty-five hours of battery life keeps those goose vibes pouring out, while the Party Mode function allows an infinite…

ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT things to realize about retriever training (and, by extension, hunting), is you’re going to have failures along with successes. Your goal should be to always set up your dog for success. When things don’t go as planned, however, you also need to find a way to help your dog bounce back. In any given training scenario, life will be easier if you show your retriever what success looks like first. If you set up a test or give commands for which there’s not a high probability of compliance, you’re going in the wrong direction. It’s only after your dog is confidently responding, and you’re certain it knows what you want that you can create situations where it can make a choice. What if that choice…

AS A CHILD, CLIMBING ABOARD A roller coaster can represent one of life’s greatest thrills, especially when you’re standing in line with your dad. He smiles down at you, promising a few moments of terror and joy as the ride goes up, down, and side to side. While riding a roller coaster might be a rite of passage for a youngster, the steep climbs, gravity-defying falls, bone jarring turns, and dizzying speeds as a wildlife biologist can be a runaway train of another kind. Because when the ride you’re on is managing an entire species, a roller-coaster is never fun. Just ask Kevin Kraai, the waterfowl program leader for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, a biologist tasked with a roller coaster ride of sorts as his state’s once-famous light…

THERE’S NOTHING QUITE LIKE snow goose hunting, especially when the migration is strong and you’re on an X. Shooting several boxes of shot-shells in a morning is not uncommon, and with e-callers, extended magazines, and no bag limit, jumping on the spring conservation snow goose season bandwagon should be high on your list. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or a snow goose newbie, the listed gear and tips/tactics in this column should make your “to-purchase” list and get logged in your memory bank. EXTENDED MAG SHOTGUNS While many shotguns allow for extended magazines, your best bet is to purchase a dedicated snow goose gun with an extended magazine built in. Extended magazines, depending on the model you choose and the shotgun to which you’re adding it, can be challenging to…

AS ANTICIPATED, THE SNOW GEESE arose from their midday roost and headed our direction. All five of us were ready. Six hundred decoys lay in front of us, most full bodies. Our layout blinds couldn’t have looked any better. The wind was perfect. “We’ll let this first little flock land,” shouted a buddy over others who were aggressively calling. “We’ll take that big wad, behind ‘em. I’ll call it.” There was no shot to call. Each string of birds veered wide at the last second. We could have shot, likely dumping a few birds, but they weren’t finishing like we wanted. As the sun was setting, a small flock of Ross’s geese passed directly overhead. They were high. I shot, mostly out of frustration. A gnarly-nosed, old, banded goose almost…

WHETHER YOU’RE LOOKING TO ring in the new year in style or impress a certain someone with a fancy dinner on Valentine’s Day, you need to give this recipe a try, as it’s the perfection combination of simplicity and gourmet. The concept of “reduction sauces” is something you will find on many high-end restaurant menus. Here, the steps are incredibly quick and easy, but make for a delicious, sweet sauce that pairs well with wild duck breasts. For this recipe, we incorporated gadwall breasts, but you can use any wild duck or goose breasts—just make sure to adjust your cooking times to turn out the perfect medium-rare cook in the end. A simple saltwater brine will draw out residual blood, resulting in a cleaner-looking duck breast ahead of cooking, but…

FINALLY! Rich Ruggiero was rigged and ready, hunting from Ducktoon. Awakening at 3:30 a.m. with his son Evan, friend Russell Ballard and his nephew, Willis Ballard; he towed the boat to a lake for his second chance at a test run. The first hunt had taken place the final day of the 2024-25 season, the day following the boat blind’s completion. Frustratingly, mechanical problems aborted the attempt. But this was opening day of early Canada goose season! A new dawn brought renewed hope. “I was so excited I hardly slept,” Ruggiero said. “We had scouted the long, narrow lake until we knew where the geese were feeding and set up the boat against the bank. At 5 a.m. we put out 12 floaters, a pulsator, unrolled two handheld flappers and…

IT ALL STARTED WITH A CLOWN MASK. One of those vintage rubber models from the 1980s that cling to the face and must be peeled from the skin like cellophane. “Oh baby,” my buddy Belch held the mask at arm’s length, admiring. We were cleaning out a storage unit for a friend. “Keep whatever you want,” the owner had instructed, “Then take the rest to the dump.” Already Belch had claimed a toaster oven, one of those massive beanbag chairs shaped like a pair of pink lips, and an unopened, original Thighmaster. Then he found the mask. “You thinking what I’m thinking?” he asked. “I hope not,” I replied. “Oh yes. Yes, yes, yes,” Belch wrestled his head into the ancient latex abomination so his voice was muffled by the…